Counting Until the End
by coldpop10
Summary: A mysterious transfer student makes things hard for Natsume. Now, people are afraid and angry at Natsume because of some accident that "involved" him.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Star ranking was an issue at Gakuen Alice. Everybody wants to have at least two starts so they can enjoy their life. However, for Natsume, Ruka, Mikan and Hotaru, star ranking is not an issue as long as they're happy. Who cares about those little studs anyway?

"Let's go to school!" Mikan said in a sing song voice. Ruka and Hotaru nodded. Natsume's face was blank but he followed them anyway.

Natsume's feeling particularly ill that day. He just came from a mission and he knows that his alice is destroying him slowly but surely. Nevertheless, he kept the pain into himself.

* * *

***Classroom***

"Ohayou! We have a new student today!" Narumi announced to the class.

A tall boy with emerald green eyes and black untidy hair came in, "Ohayou! I am Shindou Yuya. Water Alice third type. Nice to meet you!" Almost all of the girls are in awe because that Shindou guy is just hot. Sumire was almost drooling just looking at him. He looked at Natsume but Natsume didn't notice because he's just looking somewhere else.

"Now… where to place you… right! Sit beside Shouda-san. Shouda raise your hand please." Narumi said.

Shindou sat beside Sumire and greeted everybody on his way. Narumi said that they have the homeroom class free so they could know Shindou more.

Mikan introduced herself to Shindou. Almost all the girls did so except the ice queen Hotaru who just started fixing his buta bot. Ruka just pet his bunny while Natsume still tired dozed off. Mikan went back to her sit and was about to pester Natsume but seeing Natsume sleeping, she just clamped herself like an annoying crab at Hotaru.

* * *

***Breaktime***

"Jaa~ let's eat…" Ruka said.

"Ore wa pass…" Natsume said.

"Nande??" Mikan said pouting.

"Uruseyo…" and Natusme walked away.

Natsume still feels ill so he just decided to cut the rest of the class and go straight to the dormitories. Many of his classmates would just think he just snuck out of classes anyway. No one's going to worry about him which is fine by him.

However as Natsume has heaved himself on his bed and endured pain something else was happening at the ground of the Grade School department in which he was involved. The "Natsume" at the ground was shooting fire everywhere. It has managed to burn the uniform of his classmates and has successfully caused mayhem around the place. Ruka, Mikan and Hotaru, curious about what's happening went out and were shocked to see Natsume destroying everything within his reach.

"Natsume! What're you doing!!! Hey! Watch out!" Ruka pushed Hotaru and Mikan aside as flames came pelting towards them.

"NATSUME!! Why are you hurting us! Oi! BAKA! What's the meaning of all this??" Mikan shouted at him. Hotaru retreated at her caterpillar invention not wanting to meddle in the situation.

"Hey stop! You're destroying everything and hurting everyone!" Mikan continued.

"I don't care! Don't speak to me scum! I hated being with the three of you! I hate this school!" and he produced a huge fire that engulfed the east woods.

"NATSUME! What's happening to you?" Ruka said.

"Oi Ruka, I'm sick of you. Don't pretend to know me. It was such a pain in the ass with you! DIE!" he shot a fire at his bestfriend. Ruka caught fire but Mikan helped him put it out. Ruka got severe burns.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE DOING THIS NATSUME!!!" Mikan was about to say another thing but stopped as she dodged another fire.

"SHUT UP SQUIRT!" and then Natsume feeling satisfied with everything retreated to the woods.

"Why Natsume?" Ruka said. Mikan was thinking along those lines too and she was crying.

* * *

***Next day***

Natsume was shocked with the attitude of people towards him. _Why do they seen to avoid me?_ He saw Ruka and called him. "RUKA!" but Ruka punched him at the face.

"How thick can you get? HOW DARE YOU CALL ME? I haven't met anything as foul as you! I regret ever knowing you! Don't come near me or near MY friends!" Ruka said and he stomped off.

_What! Wait! Is he injured? How? HUH?_ Natsume was clueless about what was going on. He can't believe what he's hearing and was utterly surprised by Ruka's reaction towards him. He went to school to find out what had happened but they seem to avoid him. Some are scared, some are just plain angry. He couldn't quite comprehend what's going on and when he saw Mikan he quickly approached her but he was pushed away by Mikan.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CASUALLY STRUTTING HERE? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I THOUGHT YOU'RE MY FRIEND! DON'T COME NEAR ME!!!" Mikan said and she ran off afraid she would get fire at any part of her body.

Shock took over Natsume. _Why?_ _What the hell's going on here?_ _Why are people behaving this way? Why even Ruka? And Mikan. Why did he do to make people detest him? WHAT HAPPENED? _He kept on thinking about what happened.

Natsume walked to his usual spot, the Sakura Tree on the grounds where he sat and thought about what happened earlier that day. His classmates are avoiding him. Ruka seemed to be angry with him and he looked injured. Mikan seemed to be afraid of him for no reason at all. He kept thinking about what he could have done to get this people angry with him. He can't think of any and frustration took over him.

"Liked what happened, Kuro-neko?" a sneering Persona appeared.

*****

Please be gentle :) This is just my first time to make a fic :) and I will still edit the opening paragraph of this chapter because looking back at my draft. It's not really connected to my story :)

Okay? REVIEWS are most welcome :D I don't really require specific number of reviews to update this nee~ I'll update this as soon as I can :) Since it's nearly my semestral break. I think I can update this every two days :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Liked what happened, Kuro-neko?" sneered Persona.

"WHAT?" Natsume said. "Don't tell me you're responsible for this!" He said through gritted teeth ready to kill.

"There was an event here. I sent Yuya here to cause enough mayhem to make people act like that towards you."

"What do you mean?"

"Yuya here does not only have the water alice but also possesses the imitation alice. He imitated you Natsume. He played a bit here bearing your appearance... Did you enjoy it Yuya?"

"Yes aniki. It was really amusing to see people running and shouting due to _his_ fire. HA! Bastard, I hurt your friends. You should have seen it. It was really a sight!" Yuya said in relish.

"YOU!" he's going to attack Yuya but Persona came in between them.

"TEME! WHAT DO YOU NEED!" snarled Natsume. He already knows that there's a reason for Persona doing this.

"I've set a couple of missions for you. I intended that everybody here should be angry with you so they'll stop pestering and making scenes at this school while you're away"

"Tch!" he was furious! Why his friends?

"Mission starts tonight! 7pm at the gate. Nobara and Rui will meet you there." Persona said and walked away with Yuya.

* * *

***Dormitories***

Natsume knowing the truth tried to talk to Ruka but failed. He just then took off a note and slipped it inside Ruka's room. He prepared his things and set out for the missions.

* * *

***Hotaru's Room***

Ruka and Mikan stayed at Hotaru's room for the rest of the day. They've been talking about Natsume's behaviour. They hated him.

"You know, I hate Natsume for feigning innocence! He knew what he did!" said Mikan grudgingly.

"I know!" that's all Ruka could muster to say. He's too is disappointed at Natsume.

"Will the two of you just shut up! Let's have some fun! Looks like he has a mission. He won't be at school tomorrow so we can feel at ease" said Hotaru while fixing her new invention.

"Jaa... I'll go back to my room. Goodnight Sakura-san, Imai-san." Ruka was already tired.

* * *

***Ruka POV***

_Why didn't you let me know that you'll have mission today?... BAKA! You told him to stay away from you right? And you also avoid him. He doesn't have the chance to tell you at all idiot!_

As Ruka entered his room, he noticed a piece of note and picked it up. It was from Natsume and it said.

Persona gave me a set of missions. I might not be around for a while so please be safe. NATSUME

"SET OF MISSION!" blurted Ruka. _Idiot! The school is fine without him!_ He thought and went to sleep.

* * *

***School***

True enough Natsume was not around when classes began. Many speculated that maybe he doesn't want to be in school. Anyway, why bother? They are fine without him.

Narumi said that Natsume is away on a vacation and may of the students express their bitter envy. Gakuen Alice's students are not allowed to go out of school. But, why can Natsume go to a vacation?

"Why can he go to a vacation!!!" Sumire shouted to the whole class.

"That's all class! Free period ja ne!" Narumi said and rushed out.

"Yeah! Students are not allowed to see their parents and yet he was able to go to a vacation? After all what he had done to the school, they have actually permitted him to go to a vacation??" exclaimed Anna.

"Minna!" Yuu tried to get the attention of class. "MINNA!" and everybody fell silent.

"Ehem... We know that Natsume is a special star student. Treatment like this is actually expected. I'm not trying to cover Natsume but don't you realize that he having a vacation means that we can feel at ease here? Right?" Yuu explained.

Most of the class nodded but still a few looked unconvinced and one of them is Mikan.

"Even so, they should give Natsume proper punishment for what he had done to the school! Everybody is traumatized with the ruckus he made!" Mikan argued.

"Sakura-san, calm down. I'll tell you something later." Ruka said trying to calm Mikan.

"Ano, Sakura-san... Who exactly is Natsume?" asked Yuya tentatively.

"Of – Of course, you still don't know him... Come with me and I'll tell you who he is..." Mikan said and Yuya followed. After that, the two became close and somehow, Mikan developed some feelings for Yuya.

* * *

***2 months have passed***

Natsume is still not back though nobody noticed it anyway except for Mikan, Ruka and Hotaru.

"I wonder how hard his missions are to take this long' Mikan wondered.

"Sakura-san, remember what I told you before? He's doing a SET of mission. It could be more than two." Ruka explained.

"Idiots. Of course it's more than two! It wouldn't take that long if it's not 'more than two'", Hotaru said.

"He's been my friend and I kind of worry about him. He might be overworking him!" Mikan said with a worried look.

"Look! Natsume betrayed us! He hurt us! He doesn't like us! Whatever he's going through now, he deserves it!" Ruka said hotly.

"You think so? Do you really think that he deserves that? Isn't being part of the Kiken nouryoku ken already enough? You've seen him. He's always going in and out of the hospital due to strain! He could be in danger now and remember Ruka, no Ruka listen to me, we're speculating that Natsume's alice might be the 4th type. If that's so, he can be in mortal danger now!" Mikan said.

"Baka, since when did you think that way huh?" Hotaru asked.

Mikan suddenly blushed. "Ano, it's all thanks to Yuya-san here. He made me see everything and realize everything. Eetoo.. He made me think mature that is." Mikan said with blush in his cheeks.

"Well done, Yuya. I never thought I'd see the day that this BAKA will think maturely." Hotaru said patting Yuya at his shoulder.

"It's nothing really." Yuya said.

"Anyway Sakura-san, you're too soft about Natsume. We haven;t got any proof that he's the 4th type right? Look it's nearly time, let's go back to our classroom"

* * *

***Gakuen Alice Hospital***

Natsume was back from the missions. He went straight to the hospital as he is severely injured and weak. He's in no condition to tell the doctors what happened to him. But they knew very well what needs to be done with him. But still, shock is plastered on the faces of the doctors in the E.R. as it was their first time to see Natsume in this state. They put him in a bed and applied first aid to him. Natsume lost his consciousness and he was brought to the ICU for better observation.

* * *

How was it? Hope I could really finalize this fic in no time :) Revoews are most welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I don't own GA :) nor its characters. I might have added some character out of the blue but that is necessary to make this story push through :) Enjoy reading :)

**Chapter 3**

Natsume opened his eyes. It felt very heavy. He feels very tired as though he's been working for a number of days without getting any sleep. He scanned the room and instantly knew that he's in the hospital. The nurse was checking Natsume's condition when she noticed that the patient is already awake.

"Oh good that you're awake now. What do you want to eat?" the nurse asked.

"Nothing..." Natsume said faintly. "Ano, I would like to talk to the doctor in charge of me" he added.

"Alright. Just relax there while I call the doctor." The nurse said smiling.

After a while the doctor came with a food tray.

"Eat this." The doctor said.

"Err.. How long have I been here?" asked Natsume.

"Almost a week. You've been unconscious for 5 days which I think is not really surprising due to your state when you came." The doctor said.

"So... how am I now? Natsume said bracing himself for the truth.

"This may be a shock to you but your Alice type has been proven to be as the life shortening one and we strongly advise you to stop using it or at least use it to a minimum. And I'm very sorry to tell you but you only have a year to live. But if you use your alice, your life span will be really affected." explained the doctor.

"Wakatta." although Natsume knew that he still have to use his alice for his missions. "Say... when can I go back to school?"

"If you feel perfectly well and we see that you're really in the condition to go to class then you can be discharged."

"Can't I go to school now?" Natsume quickly asked.

"Not now. Tomorrow would be fine IF you already feel well. As for now, just rest." the doctor said and left.

* * *

***Next day at Gakuen Alice***

Trying to be healthy and fit for school, Natsume forced the doctors to discharge him. After all he really needs to talk to his friends badly as he doesn't know when his next missions will take place. Natsume was the first to arrive at the classroom. Walking from the hospital to the elementary school building did make Natsume tired. He was just about to doze off when Shindou Yuya entered the room.

"So you're back eh?"

"It's none of your business" Natsume said glaring at Shindou Yuya.

"Did you enjoy the missions that were supposed to be mine?" a nasty smirk can be seen in his face.

"..."

"I'll take away your friends from you" Shindou said.

"YA – " Natsume was cut. He felt stabbing pain in his chest again. He just coughed to ease the pain.

One by one, students began to fill in. They're shocked to find Natsume and were murmuring where he could've gone. Natsume just ignored them. He doesn't care what they're thinking about him but he needs to talk to his immediate friends. Then Ruka, together with Mikan and Hotaru entered the room. Natsume sat properly and turned his gaze towards the three. He was slightly taken aback when suddenly Mikan was almost half-running towards him but disappointment took over him when he realized that Mikan was actually going to Yuya who was in front of him.

"Ohayou Yuya!" Mikan said while beaming at Yuya.

"Ohayou! Did you get enough sleep last night? The teachers had given us quite a lot of homeworks right? he sighed.

"I slept late but it's great! But I think that will be the last great sleep I'll be having since that _fire_ is back. I'll be clinging for dear life again." Mikan said making sure that she's heard by Natsume. Natsume pretended that he did not hear which made Mikan a little annoyed.

Ruka noticed Natsume's appearance. He lost weight. He's pale and looks in pain. The mission might really have given him a hard time to look that way. His ones fiery crimson eyes are now a bit dull. His breathing is slightly irregular and he's sweating due to some kind of struggle within him. Natsume looked at Ruka.

"Ohayou" Natsume said faintly but Ruka ignored him.

"Ruka, did you hear something?" Mikan asked.

"No..." he said while his eyes were covered by his bangs.

* * *

***Lunch break***

Even though Natsume is staggering due to his ill feeling, he tried to speak to the three. Much to his dismay, the three were with Shindou Yuya. Natsume has long had feelings for Mikan and it somewhat hurt him to see her holding hands with that damn bastard. However, he must explain everything to them. The truth should be told.

"Ruka, Mikan and Hotaru... I have something to tell you." Natsume said when he's near the three. He ignored people avoiding him murmuring things like, _hey! Let's get out of here!_, _not fire again!_ and some more stuffs that hinted that people are afraid of him.

Ruka, Mikan and Hotaru faced Natsume. Shindou Yuya loomed in the background excited about the confrontation. Natsume spoke again, "Please listen to me..."

"Why should we? You know we're better off without you! Everyone is filled with fear when we saw you're back!" spat Ruka.

"LISTEN! I don't have much time! I want you to know what really happened!" Natsume said half shouting. "I don't know what happened that day and why you suddenly hate – " Natsume was cut by Mikan.

"WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ARROGANT BASTARD? ARE YOU BACK TO SCARE US USING YOUR _WONDERFUL_ FIRE? GO AWAY FROM US YOU TWO FACED – " but Mikan was stopped by Hotaru.

"Just stay away from us. We don't want more injuries." Hotaru said in a calm manner.

"Ano, Mikan let's go." Shindou Yuya said, he looked at Ruka and Hotaru and nudge them to follow. "You know, if something pisses you off, better avoid it." Yuya said.

"You're right." Ruka agreed. And then they left. Yuya gave a last look at Natsume, his eyes were telling Natsume that he enjoyed what happened.

As Mikan's group moved away from Natsume they saw Persona coming. By instinct, Ruka and Mikan almost ran towards Natsume but stopped halfway remembering that they were angry with him. They were not really out of earshot so they contented themselves to listen to the conversation Natsume and Persona will have.

"Kuro-neko, I need you to do some _errands_ for me" Persona said.

"Whatever" and Natsume followed Persona.

When Natsume and Persona were out of site Mikan was quite uneasy but managed to say whatever that is in her mind.

"He hasn't even back for a day yet they're giving him missions again???" Mikan said incredulously.

"You see it's better that way. When he's on mission, he's away from us. We could all feel at ease again." said Hotaru.

"Wha – ... ano.... could you please tell me what kind of missions students undergo? And how are the students chosen for those missions?" Yuya asked.

"Only chosen students goes to missions" said Mikan and she continued to discuss everything from belonging to the Dangerous Ability Class to having a very useful alice until Yuya understood. But then, Yuya was not really new to this knowledge. He is in fact in Dangerous Abilities Class.

* * *

***Natsume's Room***

_I need to finish this mission before time ran out._ He thought. Natsume again pulled a note and wrote to Ruka. He slipped the note at Ruka's room and walked away.

* * *

So how did you find this chapter? I know its a bit boring :| I'll make the next chapter as exciting and thrilling as possible :)

Your opinions are welcome so i could develop my story okay? :)


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